WrestleMania XI
Encyclopedia
WrestleMania XI was the eleventh annual WrestleMania
pay-per-view event held by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut
on April 2, 1995. The event featured seven matches, which resulted from scripted storylines and had results predetermined by the WWF.
The main event was a match between NFL
linebacker Lawrence Taylor
, who faced Bam Bam Bigelow as the result of an argument that took place between the two at the 1995 Royal Rumble
. Taylor won the match, which led to Bigelow being kicked out of Ted DiBiase
's Million Dollar Corporation
. Shawn Michaels
faced WWF Champion
Diesel
in a title match but was unable to win the championship. Jeff Jarrett
retained his WWF Intercontinental Championship
against Razor Ramon
. Owen Hart
and his mystery partner, Yokozuna challenged The Smoking Gunns for the WWF Tag Team Championship and won the title belts.
The match between Taylor and Bigelow brought the WWF mainstream press coverage. The reactions to the match were mixed; some people thought that Taylor performed surprisingly well for a non-wrestler. Others thought that the WWF pushing a football player to defeat a wrestler made professional wrestling look bad. Reviews of the event as a whole have also been mixed, and the event has been called both the worst WrestleMania of all time and the event that saved the WWF.
Kathy Huey sang a rendition of "America the Beautiful
" during the event. Prior to Lawrence Taylor
's match against Bam Bam Bigelow, Salt-n-Pepa
sang Whatta Man
. Several other celebrities also had roles at WrestleMania. Nicholas Turturro
, one of the stars of NYPD Blue
, conducted interviews and served as a guest ring announcer. Jonathan Taylor Thomas
of television's Home Improvement was a guest timekeeper for the match between Diesel and Shawn Michaels.
During the event, commentator Jerry Lawler
accidentally unplugged some microphone cords. As a result, later he and Vince McMahon
had to re-record the English commentary. On September 30, 1995, the event was broadcast as a one-hour special on the FOX Network
; it featured the Diesel
vs. Shawn Michaels
match, and the Lawrence Taylor vs. Bam Bam Bigelow match. In addition to the pay-per-view event, the WrestleMania weekend also featured the WWF's Fan Fest, a promotional event that featured wrestlers interacting with fans and signing autographs.
The WWF released the event on VHS
in North America in 1995. The VHS version was then re-released on March 2, 1999. The event was also released on DVD
in North America as part of the WrestleMania Complete Anthology boxed set on November 1, 2005. In the United Kingdom, the event was released on VHS on July 10, 1995. Packaged together with WrestleMania XII
, it was then released on DVD in the United Kingdom as part of the WWE Tagged Classics
line on August 7, 2006.
. At Royal Rumble 1995
, Bigelow teamed with Tatanka
in the final round of a tournament for the WWF Tag Team Championship
. Bigelow was pinned at the end of the match, which led to the crowd heckling him. He responded by pushing NFL
player Lawrence Taylor, who was sitting at ringside. Bigelow refused to apologize and instead challenged Taylor to a wrestling match. Taylor agreed and trained with WWF Champion
Diesel to prepare for the match. The storyline between Bigelow and Taylor brought the WWF much mainstream exposure, as the match was discussed by several news outlets.
The other main event at WrestleMania was a match for the WWF Championship between Diesel and Shawn Michaels
. Diesel had originally entered the WWF as Michaels's bodyguard but later began wrestling and forming a tag team
with Michaels. The pair held the WWF Tag Team Championship together in 1994. At Survivor Series 1994
, however, Michaels accidentally kicked Diesel in the face. This led to an argument during which Diesel dissolved the tag team and vacated the championship. Three days later, Diesel defeated Bob Backlund
to become the new WWF Champion. At Royal Rumble 1995, Michaels won the battle royal main event, which earned him a match against Diesel for the title belt at WrestleMania.
The WWF Intercontinental Championship
was also defended at WrestleMania. Jeff Jarrett
, the champion, had been feuding with Razor Ramon
, the challenger, for several months. At Royal Rumble 1995, Jarrett was accompanied by The Roadie
, who interfered on Jarrett's behalf and helped Jarrett win the championship. To even the sides in the rematch at WrestleMania, Ramon was accompanied by his friend, the 1–2–3 Kid
.
In a match for the WWF Tag Team Championship, The Smoking Gunns defended their title. Their opponents were Owen Hart
and a mystery partner. Hart refused to tell anyone the name of his partner, which left the Gunns uncertain who they would be facing and led to much speculation about the identity of the mystery partner.
Bret Hart
faced Bob Backlund in an "I Quit" match at WrestleMania. The feud began the previous summer, when Hart defended the WWF Championship against Backlund. Backlund mistakenly thought he won the match and began celebrating, but Hart pinned him to retain the title. After the match, Backlund turned heel
by attacking Hart. This led to a title match at Survivor Series 1994, in which Backlund won the title from Hart. Although Backlund soon lost the belt, the feud continued and Backlund attacked Hart during Hart's match at Royal Rumble 1995.
Also at Royal Rumble 1995, The Undertaker faced Irwin R. Schyster
as part of The Undertaker's feud with Ted DiBiase
's Million Dollar Corporation
. During the match, King Kong Bundy
, another Corporation member, interfered and enabled the Corporation to steal The Undertaker's urn, which was said to be the source of his power.
In the opening match, The Allied Powers
(Davey Boy Smith
and Lex Luger
) faced the Blu Brothers (Eli and Jacob). Smith started out on the offensive, but Jacob gained control with a running bulldog throw. The Blus capitalized on the fact that they are identical twins by switching places while the referee was not looking. Luger came into the match near the end and performed a running forearm smash on Eli. Jacob tried to throw Luger with a powerbomb
, but Luger tagged in Smith, who performed a sunset flip to pin Jacob and win the match.
The second match featured Razor Ramon, with the 1–2–3 Kid in his corner, facing WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett, who had The Roadie in his corner. Ramon took control at the beginning of the match by using power moves against Jarrett. Jarrett tried to leave the match, but the 1–2–3 Kid forced him back into the ring. Jarrett took advantage of one of Ramon's mistakes to gain the advantage. He applied a sleeper hold on Ramon, who used his strength advantage to escape the move. After Ramon threw Jarrett, the Kid attempted to interfere but was kicked by Jarrett. Ramon jumped off the ropes to attack Jarrett, but Jarrett avoided the move and applied a figure four leglock on Ramon. Ramon reversed the move to place the pressure on Jarrett's legs. He then threw Jarrett to the mat with a suplex from the second rope and prepared to execute the Razor's Edge, his finishing move. The Roadie entered the ring and attacked Ramon, prompting the referee to disqualify Jarrett; because titles cannot change hands on a disqualification, Jarrett retained his championship.
In the next match, The Undertaker faced King Kong Bundy. Ted DiBiase was at ringside holding the urn that his wrestlers had stolen from The Undertaker. Larry Young
, a Major League Baseball
umpire was the referee for the match. Young, the special referee, was written into the storyline as an out-of-work sports official because of the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike, which had ended at the time of WrestleMania. Also there (legit) was a lockout of the umpires. The Undertaker took control at the beginning of the match by jumping off the top rope and hitting Bundy. He then performed several clothesline attacks on Bundy. Bundy responded with a clothesline that knocked The Undertaker out of the ring. Seeing DiBiase close, The Undertaker took back his urn. After The Undertaker returned to the ring, DiBiase called Kama
, another Corporation member, to the ring. Kama stole the urn, and Bundy attacked The Undertaker in order to let Kama escape backstage. Bundy picked The Undertaker up and powerslam
med him to the mat. He then performed an Avalanche splash to squish The Undertaker against the corner of the ring. The Undertaker was unharmed, however, and performed a powerslam and a clothesline on Bundy before pinning him to win the match.
The Smoking Gunns defended their WWF Tag Team Championship in the next match against Owen Hart and his mystery partner, who was revealed to be Yokozuna. The Gunns worked together to control the match at the beginning, but Yokozuna gained control by performing a leg drop
on Billy Gunn. Hart attempted to perform a dropkick from the top rope but accidentally hit Yokozuna. The Gunns briefly took control until Yokozuna performed a belly to belly suplex and landed on Billy. He then performed a Banzai Drop, jumping from the second rope and sitting on Billy's chest. Hart tagged in and considered performing the Sharpshooter
submission hold; instead, he pinned Billy Gunn to win the title belts for his team.
The next match, an "I Quit" match, took place between Bret Hart and Bob Backlund, with Roddy Piper
as the guest referee. It was explained that, in order to win the match, a wrestler must force his opponent to say "I quit" into a microphone held by Piper. Hart attempted to perform the Sharpshooter early in the match; when Backlund blocked it, Hart executed a figure four leglock instead. Backlund escaped the hold and began trying to injure Hart's arm with an armbar hold. Hart then tried to attack Backlund in the corner of the ring, but Backlund moved and Hart hit his shoulder against the ring post. Backlund tried to perform the crossface chickenwing, his signature submission hold. Hart blocked him and performed the same hold on Backlund instead. Backlund made an unintelligible sound into the microphone, and Piper determined that he had submitted. As a result, the win was awarded to Bret Hart.
In the next match, which was for the WWF Championship, challenger Shawn Michaels was accompanied to the ring by Jenny McCarthy
and Diesel, the champion, was escorted by Pamela Anderson
. Michaels relied on his quickness in the opening stages, while Diesel used his strength advantage against Michaels. Diesel threw Michaels out of the ring and onto the arena floor, but Michaels later performed a clothesline that knocked Diesel out of the ring. Michaels capitalized on his advantage by performing several aerial moves, including a flying crossbody, flying bulldog throw, and a diving elbow drop. He was unable to pin Diesel, however, so he performed a sleeper hold to wear Diesel down. They brawled outside the ring, after which Michaels performed a superkick, his finishing move, but Sid
, Michaels's bodyguard, had the referee distracted and unable to count the pinfall. Diesel recovered and controlled the remainder of the match with power moves before throwing Michaels to the mat with a Jackknife powerbomb and getting the pinfall victory.
The final bout of the event was the main event match between Bam Bam Bigelow and Lawrence Taylor. Bigelow was accompanied by the members of DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation: King Kong Bundy, Tatanka, Irwin R. Schyster, Kama, and Nikolai Volkoff
. To prevent the Corporation members from interfering, Taylor brought several football players: Ken Norton Jr., Chris Spielman
, Rickey Jackson
, Carl Banks
, Reggie White
, and Steve McMichael
. Taylor gained the advantage early and performed a clothesline that knocked Bigelow out of the ring. Once he returned to the ring, Bigelow took control of the match by kicking Taylor repeatedly and performing a Boston crab
submission hold to hurt Taylor's back. Taylor got out of the hold and threw Bigelow with a suplex
. Bigelow recovered and performed several headbutts on Taylor before executing a moonsault
flip to knock Taylor down to the mat. Taylor began to take control of the match again, but Bigelow kicked him in the back of the head and then performed a headbutt from the top rope. Bigelow was unable to pin Taylor, however. Taylor climbed to the second rope, jumped off, and used his forearm to hit Bigelow. He then covered Bigelow to win the match.
and In Your House 2
pay-per-view events. The animosity lingered between Michaels and Sid, but they did not face each other to settle the feud until the September 11, 1995 episode of Monday Night Raw
.
Bam Bam Bigelow was embarrassed after losing to Lawrence Taylor. To redeem himself, he challenged Diesel to a match for the WWF Championship. During the match, Tatanka turned on Bigelow and caused him to get pinned. Bigelow was kicked out of the Million Dollar Corporation and attacked by DiBiase's wrestlers. Diesel saved Bigelow from the attack, which led to a friendship being formed between the two. Bigelow defeated Tatanka in a dark match at In Your House 2. At King of the Ring 1995, Sid, DiBiase's latest addition to the Corporation, teamed with Tatanka in a loss to the team of Diesel and Bigelow.
Razor Ramon and the 1–2–3 Kid were scheduled to face Jeff Jarrett and The Roadie at In Your House 1 the month after WrestleMania. The Kid sustained a legitimate injury, however, and was unable to compete. As a result, Ramon wrestled a two-on-one handicap match against Jarrett and The Roadie instead. Ramon won the bout, but the feud continued. At In Your House 2, The Roadie faced the 1–2–3 Kid and defeated him. Ramon and Jarrett wrestled several times, and Ramon regained the Intercontinental Championship on May 19, 1995. He held the belt for three days before dropping it back to Jarrett.
After WrestleMania, Kama melted down The Undertaker's urn and made it into a necklace. The Undertaker defeated Kama in dark matches at both In Your House 1 and In Your House 2. He then won a casket match against Kama at SummerSlam 1995
to end the feud.
The Smoking Gunns were given a rematch for the WWF Tag Team Championship at In Your House 1. Hart pinned Bart Gunn to retain the championship for his team. Hart and Yokozuna then moved on to face other competition, and the Gunns did not become serious contenders for the title again until late in 1995, when they defeated Hart and Yokozuna to regain the championship.
. The pay-per-view buyrate for WrestleMania XI was 1.3, which was lower than the 1.68 buyrate for WrestleMania X but higher than the 1.2 buyrate for WrestleMania XII.
Writing for 411mania, columnist Dustin James rated the event as the seventeenth best of the first twenty-three WrestleManias. He stated that the event did not have any truly amazing matches but that Lawrence Taylor put on a solid performance. John Powell of SLAM! Wrestling rated the event as the worst WrestleMania of all time. The specific concerns he mentioned in his review are Diesel's championship reign and WWF allowing a football player to defeat a wrestler in what he describes as a "sham of a match". In contrast, Pro Wrestling Illustrated
columnist Dave Rosenbaum stated that WrestleMania "saved" the WWF in its feud with rival World Championship Wrestling
. He argued that Taylor "looked like a pro" and contributed to an "incredible" match. He also observed that the tag team matches helped rejuvenate an area of wrestling that had been suffering in the WWF and that the match between Michaels and Diesel was a candidate for match of the year.
WrestleMania
WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced annually in late March or early April by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut...
pay-per-view event held by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
on April 2, 1995. The event featured seven matches, which resulted from scripted storylines and had results predetermined by the WWF.
The main event was a match between NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
linebacker Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Julius Taylor , nicknamed "L.T.", is a Hall of Fame former American football player. Taylor played his entire professional career as a linebacker for the New York Giants in the National Football League...
, who faced Bam Bam Bigelow as the result of an argument that took place between the two at the 1995 Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (1995)
Royal Rumble was the eighth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 22, 1995, in the USF Sun Dome located in Tampa, Florida. The event featured five matches based on scripted storylines and the results...
. Taylor won the match, which led to Bigelow being kicked out of Ted DiBiase
Ted DiBiase
Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase, Sr. is a retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career...
's Million Dollar Corporation
Million Dollar Corporation
The Million Dollar Corporation was a heel stable in the World Wrestling Federation from April 1994 to May 1996 and was led and managed by the Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase.-Beginning :...
. Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
faced WWF Champion
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
Diesel
Kevin Nash
Kevin Scott Nash is an American professional wrestler and actor. As of 2011, Nash is signed to a five year contract with WWE under their WWE Legends program and appears as part of their Raw brand roster...
in a title match but was unable to win the championship. Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , an organization he co-founded along with his father and in which he holds some stock but not total control...
retained his WWF Intercontinental Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
against Razor Ramon
Scott Hall
Scott Hall is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation in the early and mid 1990s under the ring name Razor Ramon, as well as for his period in the mid 1990s and early 2000s with World Championship Wrestling under his real name...
. Owen Hart
Owen Hart
Owen James Hart was a Canadian professional and amateur wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling , and most notably, the World Wrestling Federation , where he wrestled under both his own name, and ring name The...
and his mystery partner, Yokozuna challenged The Smoking Gunns for the WWF Tag Team Championship and won the title belts.
The match between Taylor and Bigelow brought the WWF mainstream press coverage. The reactions to the match were mixed; some people thought that Taylor performed surprisingly well for a non-wrestler. Others thought that the WWF pushing a football player to defeat a wrestler made professional wrestling look bad. Reviews of the event as a whole have also been mixed, and the event has been called both the worst WrestleMania of all time and the event that saved the WWF.
Production
Special OlympianSpecial Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....
Kathy Huey sang a rendition of "America the Beautiful
America the Beautiful
"America the Beautiful" is an American patriotic song. The lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and the music composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward....
" during the event. Prior to Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Julius Taylor , nicknamed "L.T.", is a Hall of Fame former American football player. Taylor played his entire professional career as a linebacker for the New York Giants in the National Football League...
's match against Bam Bam Bigelow, Salt-n-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa is an American hip hop trio from Queens and Brooklyn, New York, that was formed in 1985. The group, consisting of Cheryl "Salt" Renee James, Sandra "Pepa" Denton, and Deidra "DJ Spinderella" Roper, was one of the first all-female rap crews....
sang Whatta Man
Whatta Man
"Whatta Man" is a 1994 single by Salt-n-Pepa and En Vogue from Salt-N-Pepa's 1993 album Very Necessary. It was issued by Next Plateau/London Records and produced by Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor. It also appears on En Vogue's Runaway Love EP...
. Several other celebrities also had roles at WrestleMania. Nicholas Turturro
Nicholas Turturro
Nicholas Turturro, Jr. is an American film, television and prolific on-stage character actor, perhaps best known for his role as James Martinez, on NYPD Blue from 1993 to 2000.-Early life:...
, one of the stars of NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...
, conducted interviews and served as a guest ring announcer. Jonathan Taylor Thomas
Jonathan Taylor Thomas
Jonathan Taylor Thomas is an American actor, voice actor, former child star, and teen idol...
of television's Home Improvement was a guest timekeeper for the match between Diesel and Shawn Michaels.
During the event, commentator Jerry Lawler
Jerry Lawler
Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional...
accidentally unplugged some microphone cords. As a result, later he and Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
had to re-record the English commentary. On September 30, 1995, the event was broadcast as a one-hour special on the FOX Network
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
; it featured the Diesel
Kevin Nash
Kevin Scott Nash is an American professional wrestler and actor. As of 2011, Nash is signed to a five year contract with WWE under their WWE Legends program and appears as part of their Raw brand roster...
vs. Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
match, and the Lawrence Taylor vs. Bam Bam Bigelow match. In addition to the pay-per-view event, the WrestleMania weekend also featured the WWF's Fan Fest, a promotional event that featured wrestlers interacting with fans and signing autographs.
The WWF released the event on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
in North America in 1995. The VHS version was then re-released on March 2, 1999. The event was also released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in North America as part of the WrestleMania Complete Anthology boxed set on November 1, 2005. In the United Kingdom, the event was released on VHS on July 10, 1995. Packaged together with WrestleMania XII
WrestleMania XII
-Other on-screen talent:-External links:**...
, it was then released on DVD in the United Kingdom as part of the WWE Tagged Classics
WWE Tagged Classics
WWE Tagged Classics are a series of two-disc DVD sets produced by Silver Vision and World Wrestling Entertainment for retail markets in Region 2 in PAL format...
line on August 7, 2006.
Background
The most heavily promoted feud going into the event was between Bam Bam Bigelow and Lawrence TaylorLawrence Taylor
Lawrence Julius Taylor , nicknamed "L.T.", is a Hall of Fame former American football player. Taylor played his entire professional career as a linebacker for the New York Giants in the National Football League...
. At Royal Rumble 1995
Royal Rumble (1995)
Royal Rumble was the eighth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 22, 1995, in the USF Sun Dome located in Tampa, Florida. The event featured five matches based on scripted storylines and the results...
, Bigelow teamed with Tatanka
Chris Chavis
Christopher "Chris" Chavis , is a Native American professional wrestler best known for his work with World Wrestling Entertainment as Tatanka from 1991 to 1996 and from 2005 to 2007...
in the final round of a tournament for the WWF Tag Team Championship
World Tag Team Championship
The World Tag Team Championship was the original professional wrestling world tag team championship contested for in World Wrestling Entertainment . It served as the premier title for tag teams in WWE from 1971 until 2002 when a second WWE Tag Team Championship was established...
. Bigelow was pinned at the end of the match, which led to the crowd heckling him. He responded by pushing NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
player Lawrence Taylor, who was sitting at ringside. Bigelow refused to apologize and instead challenged Taylor to a wrestling match. Taylor agreed and trained with WWF Champion
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
Diesel to prepare for the match. The storyline between Bigelow and Taylor brought the WWF much mainstream exposure, as the match was discussed by several news outlets.
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
. Diesel had originally entered the WWF as Michaels's bodyguard but later began wrestling and forming a tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
with Michaels. The pair held the WWF Tag Team Championship together in 1994. At Survivor Series 1994
Survivor Series (1994)
Survivor Series was the eighth annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on Thanksgiving Eve, November 23, 1994 at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas...
, however, Michaels accidentally kicked Diesel in the face. This led to an argument during which Diesel dissolved the tag team and vacated the championship. Three days later, Diesel defeated Bob Backlund
Bob Backlund
Robert Lee "Bob" Backlund is an American professional wrestler with an in ring career that spanned over 30 years. Over that time, he went on to become a two-time WWWF/WWF Champion...
to become the new WWF Champion. At Royal Rumble 1995, Michaels won the battle royal main event, which earned him a match against Diesel for the title belt at WrestleMania.
The WWF Intercontinental Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
was also defended at WrestleMania. Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , an organization he co-founded along with his father and in which he holds some stock but not total control...
, the champion, had been feuding with Razor Ramon
Scott Hall
Scott Hall is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation in the early and mid 1990s under the ring name Razor Ramon, as well as for his period in the mid 1990s and early 2000s with World Championship Wrestling under his real name...
, the challenger, for several months. At Royal Rumble 1995, Jarrett was accompanied by The Roadie
Brian Gerard James
Brian Gerard James is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE as an agent and producer. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation as "The Road Dogg" Jesse James or simply Road Dogg...
, who interfered on Jarrett's behalf and helped Jarrett win the championship. To even the sides in the rematch at WrestleMania, Ramon was accompanied by his friend, the 1–2–3 Kid
Sean Waltman
Sean Michael Waltman is an American professional wrestler currently signed with WWE in their developmental program. He wrestled there under the ring names 1–2–3 Kid and X-Pac off and on from 1993–2002, World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Syxx, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ...
.
In a match for the WWF Tag Team Championship, The Smoking Gunns defended their title. Their opponents were Owen Hart
Owen Hart
Owen James Hart was a Canadian professional and amateur wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling , and most notably, the World Wrestling Federation , where he wrestled under both his own name, and ring name The...
and a mystery partner. Hart refused to tell anyone the name of his partner, which left the Gunns uncertain who they would be facing and led to much speculation about the identity of the mystery partner.
Bret Hart
Bret Hart
Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
faced Bob Backlund in an "I Quit" match at WrestleMania. The feud began the previous summer, when Hart defended the WWF Championship against Backlund. Backlund mistakenly thought he won the match and began celebrating, but Hart pinned him to retain the title. After the match, Backlund turned heel
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
by attacking Hart. This led to a title match at Survivor Series 1994, in which Backlund won the title from Hart. Although Backlund soon lost the belt, the feud continued and Backlund attacked Hart during Hart's match at Royal Rumble 1995.
Also at Royal Rumble 1995, The Undertaker faced Irwin R. Schyster
Mike Rotunda
Lawrence Michael "Mike" Rotunda is a former American professional wrestler, perhaps best known under the name Irwin R. Schyster or I.R.S. for short. He is currently signed with WWE working as a road agent and making occasional appearances on WWE shows as Irwin R...
as part of The Undertaker's feud with Ted DiBiase
Ted DiBiase
Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase, Sr. is a retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career...
's Million Dollar Corporation
Million Dollar Corporation
The Million Dollar Corporation was a heel stable in the World Wrestling Federation from April 1994 to May 1996 and was led and managed by the Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase.-Beginning :...
. During the match, King Kong Bundy
King Kong Bundy
Christopher Alan "Chris" Pallies is an American professional wrestler, stand-up comedian and actor, better known by his ring name, King Kong Bundy.-Personal:...
, another Corporation member, interfered and enabled the Corporation to steal The Undertaker's urn, which was said to be the source of his power.
Event
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentator | Jerry Lawler Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional... |
| Vince McMahon Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE... |
|
| Jean Brassard | |
| Ray Rougeau Raymond Rougeau Raymond "Ray" Rougeau is a former Canadian professional wrestler and French language television presenter and commentator.-Career:... |
|
| Carsten Schaefer | |
| Günter Zapf | |
| Interviewer | Gorilla Monsoon Gorilla Monsoon Robert James "Gino" Marella , better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American professional wrestler, play-by-play announcer, and booker... (Coliseum Video) |
| Todd Pettengill Todd Pettengill Todd Clark Pettengill is a radio disc jockey for WPLJ 95.5 in the New York area. He is perhaps best known for his tenure in the World Wrestling Federation as an on-screen interviewer in the mid-to-late 1990s.-Radio career:... |
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| Jim Ross Jim Ross James William "Jim" Ross is a professional wrestling commentator, former professional wrestling referee, restaurateur, occasional wrestler, and former company executive of WWE, where he currently works as a commentator on the WWE Raw brand... |
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| Ring announcer | Howard Finkel Howard Finkel Howard Finkel is a professional wrestling ring announcer currently working with WWE in a variety of roles. Hired in 1975 by Vincent J. McMahon's World Wide Wrestling Federation, "The Fink" was the first person brought in to Vincent K... |
| Referee | Mike Chioda Mike Chioda Michael Joseph "Mike" Chioda, is a senior referee who is currently signed to WWE. While not refereeing, Chioda, as well as the other referees in WWE, help set up the arena before shows, constructing the ring and stage areas.-WWF:... |
| Danny Davis Dan Marsh Dan Marsh is a former professional wrestling referee and wrestler most famous as Danny Davis of the World Wrestling Federation. He also competed in the WWF for several years as Mr. X, a masked wrestler.... |
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| Jack Doan Jack Doan John Michael "Jack" Doan is a veteran professional wrestling referee currently signed with WWE.-Career:Doan joined WWE in October 1991 as a truck driver. From there, he took robes from Superstars at ringside, played music at shows, worked as part of the ring crew, and continued to drive the... |
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| Earl Hebner Earl Hebner Earl William Hebner is a professional wrestling referee currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and the twin brother of Dave Hebner... |
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| Tim White Tim White (wrestling) Timothy Rhys White is a former professional wrestling referee. He worked with World Wrestling Entertainment as a producer on the SmackDown! brand... |
In the opening match, The Allied Powers
The Allied Powers (wrestling)
Allied Powers was a short-lived Professional wrestling Tag team in World Wrestling Federation that consisted of Lex Luger and "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith for eight months in 1995. Their name is a reference to the close friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom, as well...
(Davey Boy Smith
Davey Boy Smith
Davey Boy Smith was a British professional wrestler, better known as "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, who was born in Golborne in North West England, United Kingdom. Smith is known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling...
and Lex Luger
Lex Luger
Lawrence Wendell "Larry" Pfohl , better known by his ring name Lex Luger, is an American former professional wrestler and football player currently working with WWE on their wellness policy...
) faced the Blu Brothers (Eli and Jacob). Smith started out on the offensive, but Jacob gained control with a running bulldog throw. The Blus capitalized on the fact that they are identical twins by switching places while the referee was not looking. Luger came into the match near the end and performed a running forearm smash on Eli. Jacob tried to throw Luger with a powerbomb
Powerbomb
A powerbomb is a professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted up and then slammed back-first down to the mat. The standard powerbomb sees an opponent first placed in a standing headscissors position...
, but Luger tagged in Smith, who performed a sunset flip to pin Jacob and win the match.
The second match featured Razor Ramon, with the 1–2–3 Kid in his corner, facing WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett, who had The Roadie in his corner. Ramon took control at the beginning of the match by using power moves against Jarrett. Jarrett tried to leave the match, but the 1–2–3 Kid forced him back into the ring. Jarrett took advantage of one of Ramon's mistakes to gain the advantage. He applied a sleeper hold on Ramon, who used his strength advantage to escape the move. After Ramon threw Jarrett, the Kid attempted to interfere but was kicked by Jarrett. Ramon jumped off the ropes to attack Jarrett, but Jarrett avoided the move and applied a figure four leglock on Ramon. Ramon reversed the move to place the pressure on Jarrett's legs. He then threw Jarrett to the mat with a suplex from the second rope and prepared to execute the Razor's Edge, his finishing move. The Roadie entered the ring and attacked Ramon, prompting the referee to disqualify Jarrett; because titles cannot change hands on a disqualification, Jarrett retained his championship.
Larry Young (umpire)
Larry Eugene Young is a former umpire in Major League Baseball. He is a graduate of Rock Valley College in Rockford, Illinois. After beginning his career in the American League in 1985, he worked throughout both leagues from 2000 until his retirement following the 2007 season...
, a Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
umpire was the referee for the match. Young, the special referee, was written into the storyline as an out-of-work sports official because of the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike, which had ended at the time of WrestleMania. Also there (legit) was a lockout of the umpires. The Undertaker took control at the beginning of the match by jumping off the top rope and hitting Bundy. He then performed several clothesline attacks on Bundy. Bundy responded with a clothesline that knocked The Undertaker out of the ring. Seeing DiBiase close, The Undertaker took back his urn. After The Undertaker returned to the ring, DiBiase called Kama
Charles Wright (wrestler)
Charles Wright is an American businessman and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation throughout the 1990s and early 2000s under the ring names Papa Shango, Kama, Kama Mustafa, The Godfather, and The Goodfather .After leaving the wrestling...
, another Corporation member, to the ring. Kama stole the urn, and Bundy attacked The Undertaker in order to let Kama escape backstage. Bundy picked The Undertaker up and powerslam
Powerslam
A powerslam is a professional wrestling body slam move in which the wrestler performing the slam falls face-down on top of his/her opponent. The use of the term "powerslam" usually refers to the front powerslam and the scoop powerslam.-Emerald Flowsion:...
med him to the mat. He then performed an Avalanche splash to squish The Undertaker against the corner of the ring. The Undertaker was unharmed, however, and performed a powerslam and a clothesline on Bundy before pinning him to win the match.
The Smoking Gunns defended their WWF Tag Team Championship in the next match against Owen Hart and his mystery partner, who was revealed to be Yokozuna. The Gunns worked together to control the match at the beginning, but Yokozuna gained control by performing a leg drop
Leg drop
A leg drop or legdrop refers to an attack used in professional wrestling in which an attacking wrestler will jump and land his leg across a fallen opponent's chest, throat, face or head or in some cases, the groin/lower-abdominal area...
on Billy Gunn. Hart attempted to perform a dropkick from the top rope but accidentally hit Yokozuna. The Gunns briefly took control until Yokozuna performed a belly to belly suplex and landed on Billy. He then performed a Banzai Drop, jumping from the second rope and sitting on Billy's chest. Hart tagged in and considered performing the Sharpshooter
Sharpshooter (professional wrestling)
The Sharpshooter, originally named Sasori-gatame, Scorpion Hold in English, is a professional wrestling submission hold. The move is also known by several other names: cloverleaf leg-lace Boston crab, standing reverse figure-four leglock, and, the most commonly known alternative, Scorpion Deathlock...
submission hold; instead, he pinned Billy Gunn to win the title belts for his team.
Roddy Piper
Roderick George Toombs , better known by his ring name "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler and film actor who is currently signed to WWE. In professional wrestling, he is best known for his work with WWE...
as the guest referee. It was explained that, in order to win the match, a wrestler must force his opponent to say "I quit" into a microphone held by Piper. Hart attempted to perform the Sharpshooter early in the match; when Backlund blocked it, Hart executed a figure four leglock instead. Backlund escaped the hold and began trying to injure Hart's arm with an armbar hold. Hart then tried to attack Backlund in the corner of the ring, but Backlund moved and Hart hit his shoulder against the ring post. Backlund tried to perform the crossface chickenwing, his signature submission hold. Hart blocked him and performed the same hold on Backlund instead. Backlund made an unintelligible sound into the microphone, and Piper determined that he had submitted. As a result, the win was awarded to Bret Hart.
In the next match, which was for the WWF Championship, challenger Shawn Michaels was accompanied to the ring by Jenny McCarthy
Jenny McCarthy
Jennifer Ann "Jenny" McCarthy is an American model, comedian, actress, author, activist, and game show host. She began her career in 1993 as a nude model for Playboy magazine and was later named their Playmate of the Year. McCarthy then parlayed her Playboy fame into a successful television and...
and Diesel, the champion, was escorted by Pamela Anderson
Pamela Anderson
Pamela Denise Anderson is a Canadian-American actress, model, producer, author, activist, and former showgirl, known for her roles on the television series Home Improvement, Baywatch, and V.I.P. She was chosen as a Playmate of the Month for Playboy magazine in February 1990...
. Michaels relied on his quickness in the opening stages, while Diesel used his strength advantage against Michaels. Diesel threw Michaels out of the ring and onto the arena floor, but Michaels later performed a clothesline that knocked Diesel out of the ring. Michaels capitalized on his advantage by performing several aerial moves, including a flying crossbody, flying bulldog throw, and a diving elbow drop. He was unable to pin Diesel, however, so he performed a sleeper hold to wear Diesel down. They brawled outside the ring, after which Michaels performed a superkick, his finishing move, but Sid
Sid Eudy
Sidney Raymond "Sid" Eudy is an American professional wrestler, best known as Sid Vicious in World Championship Wrestling, and as Sid Justice and Sycho Sid in the World Wrestling Federation...
, Michaels's bodyguard, had the referee distracted and unable to count the pinfall. Diesel recovered and controlled the remainder of the match with power moves before throwing Michaels to the mat with a Jackknife powerbomb and getting the pinfall victory.
The final bout of the event was the main event match between Bam Bam Bigelow and Lawrence Taylor. Bigelow was accompanied by the members of DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation: King Kong Bundy, Tatanka, Irwin R. Schyster, Kama, and Nikolai Volkoff
Nikolai Volkoff
Josip Nikolai Peruzović , better known by his ring name of Nikolai Volkoff, is a professional wrestler who is best known for his performances for the World Wrestling Federation...
. To prevent the Corporation members from interfering, Taylor brought several football players: Ken Norton Jr., Chris Spielman
Chris Spielman
Charles Christopher "Chris" Spielman is a former American football player and is currently an analyst for ESPN's coverage of college football games.-Football career:...
, Rickey Jackson
Rickey Jackson
Rickey Anderson Jackson is a former American football linebacker in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers . In 1997, Jackson was inducted into the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame. Jackson won a Super Bowl ring with the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX one year before retiring...
, Carl Banks
Carl Banks
Carl E. Banks is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League from 1984 to 1995 for the New York Giants, the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Browns. He made the Pro Bowl in 1987, had 39.5 career quarterback sacks, and was a member of the NFL's 1980's All-Decade Team...
, Reggie White
Reggie White
Reginald Howard "Reggie" White was a professional American football player. He played 15 seasons as a defensive end in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers, becoming one of the most decorated players in NFL history...
, and Steve McMichael
Steve McMichael
-World Wrestling Federation :After the end of his NFL career, he appeared at ringside in the WWF for Lawrence Taylor at WrestleMania XI on April 2, 1995 in Hartford, Connecticut. Taylor was wrestling Bam Bam Bigelow and there were several football players at ringside to keep wrestlers from...
. Taylor gained the advantage early and performed a clothesline that knocked Bigelow out of the ring. Once he returned to the ring, Bigelow took control of the match by kicking Taylor repeatedly and performing a Boston crab
Boston crab
The Boston crab is a professional wrestling hold that typically starts with the opponent lying supine on the mat, with the wrestler standing and facing them. It is a type of spinal lock where the wrestler hooks each of the opponent’s legs in one of his arms, and then turns the opponent face-down,...
submission hold to hurt Taylor's back. Taylor got out of the hold and threw Bigelow with a suplex
Suplex
A suplex is an offensive move used in professional sport wrestling . The move consists of one wrestler picking up his or her opponent off the ground and then using a large portion of his or her own body weight to drive the opponent down on the mat. Nearly all suplexes have the attacker going down...
. Bigelow recovered and performed several headbutts on Taylor before executing a moonsault
Moonsault
A moonsault, moonsault press, or back flip splash is a professional wrestling aerial technique. Much of its popularity in American wrestling is attributed to The Great Muta, despite it being used in North America by "Leaping" Lanny Poffo years before Muta came from Japan.In a standard moonsault,...
flip to knock Taylor down to the mat. Taylor began to take control of the match again, but Bigelow kicked him in the back of the head and then performed a headbutt from the top rope. Bigelow was unable to pin Taylor, however. Taylor climbed to the second rope, jumped off, and used his forearm to hit Bigelow. He then covered Bigelow to win the match.
Aftermath
Shortly after WrestleMania, Diesel offered Shawn Michaels a rematch. Michaels blamed Sid for the loss and informed him that he would not be needed during the match. Sid got angry and attacked Michaels until Diesel saved him. Diesel and Michaels became allies once again, and they teamed up to win the WWF Tag Team Championship later that year. Diesel feuded with Sid and defeated him at the In Your House 1In Your House 1
In Your House 1 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation , which took place on May 14, 1995 at the Onondaga War Memorial in Syracuse, New York. It was the first pay-per-view of the In Your House series...
and In Your House 2
In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks
In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It was the second pay-per-view of the In Your House series. It took place on July 23, 1995 at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.Seven professional...
pay-per-view events. The animosity lingered between Michaels and Sid, but they did not face each other to settle the feud until the September 11, 1995 episode of Monday Night Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
.
Razor Ramon and the 1–2–3 Kid were scheduled to face Jeff Jarrett and The Roadie at In Your House 1 the month after WrestleMania. The Kid sustained a legitimate injury, however, and was unable to compete. As a result, Ramon wrestled a two-on-one handicap match against Jarrett and The Roadie instead. Ramon won the bout, but the feud continued. At In Your House 2, The Roadie faced the 1–2–3 Kid and defeated him. Ramon and Jarrett wrestled several times, and Ramon regained the Intercontinental Championship on May 19, 1995. He held the belt for three days before dropping it back to Jarrett.
After WrestleMania, Kama melted down The Undertaker's urn and made it into a necklace. The Undertaker defeated Kama in dark matches at both In Your House 1 and In Your House 2. He then won a casket match against Kama at SummerSlam 1995
SummerSlam (1995)
SummerSlam was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It was the eighth annual SummerSlam event. It took place on August 27, 1995 at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania....
to end the feud.
The Smoking Gunns were given a rematch for the WWF Tag Team Championship at In Your House 1. Hart pinned Bart Gunn to retain the championship for his team. Hart and Yokozuna then moved on to face other competition, and the Gunns did not become serious contenders for the title again until late in 1995, when they defeated Hart and Yokozuna to regain the championship.
Reception
The event was attended by 15,000 fans, who paid a total of $750,000 in admission fees. This was down from the previous year's attendance of 18,065, but the decline could be attributed to the smaller size of the venue for WrestleMania XI. The attendance figure was also lower than the following year's figure of 18,852 fans at WrestleMania XIIWrestleMania XII
-Other on-screen talent:-External links:**...
. The pay-per-view buyrate for WrestleMania XI was 1.3, which was lower than the 1.68 buyrate for WrestleMania X but higher than the 1.2 buyrate for WrestleMania XII.
Writing for 411mania, columnist Dustin James rated the event as the seventeenth best of the first twenty-three WrestleManias. He stated that the event did not have any truly amazing matches but that Lawrence Taylor put on a solid performance. John Powell of SLAM! Wrestling rated the event as the worst WrestleMania of all time. The specific concerns he mentioned in his review are Diesel's championship reign and WWF allowing a football player to defeat a wrestler in what he describes as a "sham of a match". In contrast, Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Pro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
columnist Dave Rosenbaum stated that WrestleMania "saved" the WWF in its feud with rival World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
. He argued that Taylor "looked like a pro" and contributed to an "incredible" match. He also observed that the tag team matches helped rejuvenate an area of wrestling that had been suffering in the WWF and that the match between Michaels and Diesel was a candidate for match of the year.
Results
| # | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Allied Powers The Allied Powers (wrestling) Allied Powers was a short-lived Professional wrestling Tag team in World Wrestling Federation that consisted of Lex Luger and "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith for eight months in 1995. Their name is a reference to the close friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom, as well... (Lex Luger Lex Luger Lawrence Wendell "Larry" Pfohl , better known by his ring name Lex Luger, is an American former professional wrestler and football player currently working with WWE on their wellness policy... and The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith Davey Boy Smith was a British professional wrestler, better known as "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, who was born in Golborne in North West England, United Kingdom. Smith is known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling... ) defeated The Blu Brothers (Jacob and Eli) (with Uncle Zebekiah Dutch Mantel Wayne Keown is an American professional wrestler, and author better known by his ring name, Dutch Mantel or Dutch Mantell. He currently is semi-retired but still makes occasional wrestling appearances. He was previously with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a writer behind the scenes... ) |
Tag team match Professional wrestling tag team match types Much like singles matches, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace... |
06:34 |
| 2 | Razor Ramon Scott Hall Scott Hall is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation in the early and mid 1990s under the ring name Razor Ramon, as well as for his period in the mid 1990s and early 2000s with World Championship Wrestling under his real name... (with The 1–2–3 Kid Sean Waltman Sean Michael Waltman is an American professional wrestler currently signed with WWE in their developmental program. He wrestled there under the ring names 1–2–3 Kid and X-Pac off and on from 1993–2002, World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Syxx, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ... ) defeated Jeff Jarrett Jeff Jarrett Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , an organization he co-founded along with his father and in which he holds some stock but not total control... (c) (with The Roadie Brian Gerard James Brian Gerard James is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE as an agent and producer. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation as "The Road Dogg" Jesse James or simply Road Dogg... ) by disqualification |
Singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship WWE Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand... |
13:32 |
| 3 | The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) defeated King Kong Bundy King Kong Bundy Christopher Alan "Chris" Pallies is an American professional wrestler, stand-up comedian and actor, better known by his ring name, King Kong Bundy.-Personal:... (with Ted DiBiase Ted DiBiase Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase, Sr. is a retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career... ) |
Singles match with special guest referee Larry Young Larry Young (umpire) Larry Eugene Young is a former umpire in Major League Baseball. He is a graduate of Rock Valley College in Rockford, Illinois. After beginning his career in the American League in 1985, he worked throughout both leagues from 2000 until his retirement following the 2007 season... |
06:36 |
| 4 | Owen Hart and Yokozuna Owen Hart and Yokozuna Owen Hart and Yokozuna were a professional wrestling tag team that wrestled in World Wrestling Federation. The team existed in 1995.-History:... (with Mr. Fuji Mr. Fuji Harry Fujiwara is an American former professional wrestler and manager, best known by his ring name Mr. Fuji. He was infamous for often throwing salt in the eyes of face wrestlers... and Jim Cornette Jim Cornette James Mark "Jim" Cornette is an American professional wrestling manager, commentator, promoter, and booker. As a manager, he has worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation and from 1991 to 1995, was the owner of Smoky Mountain Wrestling... ) defeated The Smoking Gunns (c) (Billy Monty Sopp Monty Kip Sopp is an American professional wrestler, best known as Billy Gunn during his tenure for World Wrestling Entertainment. He is probably best known as one of the members of the New Age Outlaws. He also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Kip James... and Bart) |
Tag team match for the WWF Tag Team Championship | 09:42 |
| 5 | Bret Hart Bret Hart Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College... defeated Bob Backlund Bob Backlund Robert Lee "Bob" Backlund is an American professional wrestler with an in ring career that spanned over 30 years. Over that time, he went on to become a two-time WWWF/WWF Champion... |
"I Quit" match with special guest referee Roddy Piper Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs , better known by his ring name "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler and film actor who is currently signed to WWE. In professional wrestling, he is best known for his work with WWE... |
09:34 |
| 6 | Diesel Kevin Nash Kevin Scott Nash is an American professional wrestler and actor. As of 2011, Nash is signed to a five year contract with WWE under their WWE Legends program and appears as part of their Raw brand roster... (c) (with Pamela Anderson Pamela Anderson Pamela Denise Anderson is a Canadian-American actress, model, producer, author, activist, and former showgirl, known for her roles on the television series Home Improvement, Baywatch, and V.I.P. She was chosen as a Playmate of the Month for Playboy magazine in February 1990... ) defeated Shawn Michaels Shawn Michaels Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December... (with Sid Sid Eudy Sidney Raymond "Sid" Eudy is an American professional wrestler, best known as Sid Vicious in World Championship Wrestling, and as Sid Justice and Sycho Sid in the World Wrestling Federation... and Jenny McCarthy Jenny McCarthy Jennifer Ann "Jenny" McCarthy is an American model, comedian, actress, author, activist, and game show host. She began her career in 1993 as a nude model for Playboy magazine and was later named their Playmate of the Year. McCarthy then parlayed her Playboy fame into a successful television and... ) |
Singles match for the WWF Championship WWE Championship The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963... |
20:35 |
| 7 | Lawrence Taylor Lawrence Taylor Lawrence Julius Taylor , nicknamed "L.T.", is a Hall of Fame former American football player. Taylor played his entire professional career as a linebacker for the New York Giants in the National Football League... defeated Bam Bam Bigelow (with Ted DiBiase Ted DiBiase Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase, Sr. is a retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career... ) |
Singles match with special guest referee Pat Patterson | 11:42 |